More chills tonight; weather warms on Monday

After two chilly nights, South Floridians can expect to thaw out Monday as the temperature nears 70 degrees.

Sunday evening into Monday morning is expected to be the last cold night in the area for at least a little while, said National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Baxter.

Temperatures should warm up around sunrise Monday, said Baxter, with the highs in the upper 60s to near 70 for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

However, some residents are not ready for the cold spell to end just yet.

â€œI love it; itâ€™s refreshing,â€Â said Robin Calnan. â€œIâ€™d love it to be like this for a little longer but not for the tourists.â€Â

Calnan, who moved from Boston to Parkland three years ago, broke out her hand-knit gloves for a walk along Las Olas Boulevard Sunday afternoon. â€œI never get to wear these,â€Â she said.

By mid-week, temperatures are expected to rise to the mid-80s, with mostly dry weather, said Baxter.

Nikolaj Rindom and his family are on a two-week vacation from Denmark and are grateful the warm weather will soon return.

â€œItâ€™s nice for a couple of days,â€Â Rindom said of the cooler weather, â€œbut weâ€™re hoping to go to the beach tomorrow.â€Â

South Florida's drop into the chill zone came thanks to a mass of very dry air that settled in from the north, dropping temperatures in inland agricultural areas to near freezing overnight Sunday, forecasters said.

A reading of 34 degrees was recorded in Palmdale, northwest of Lake Okeechobee, forecasters reported.

The wind chill advisory for South Florida was canceled at 8:20 a.m. Sunday.